Eleanor A Lockhart | Independent Researcher

Eleanor A Lockhart

Independent Researcher, Media, Communications, International Affairs, Department Member

Independent Researcher, Media, Communications, International Affairs, Department Member |

Scholar of gender, online communication, and dynamics of harassment in fan communities and the production of interactive media.
Supervisors: James Arnt Aune and Kristan Poirot
Phone: 2672596373

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Talks

LGBTQ/Queer Theory, Digital Games, and the Figure of the Geek

Sexual harassment is a serious problem in online gaming, and may play a greater role than gender ... more Sexual harassment is a serious problem in online gaming, and may play a greater role than gender stereotyping in keeping women out of gaming. LGBTQ/Queer gamers are also becoming increasingly visible. I discuss current games that deal with LGBTQ issues and female empowerment, and discuss problems with them from a critical theory perspective.

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Theorizing Argumentation about Oppression at the Intersection of Science Studies and Poststructuralism

Since the 1960s, those interested in political rhetoric have been invested in the identification ... more Since the 1960s, those interested in political rhetoric have been invested in the identification and analysis of strategies through which subaltern groups and communities can resist strategies that subordinate and silence them. In particular, scholars in rhetoric and related fields have been concerned with the criticism of discourses that subjugate people based on qualities or traits that separate them from an imagined, hegemonic norm, and the contributions this can bring to both legal and systemic discrimination as well as the removal of voice and discursive power. The result of such a concern has been the embrace of “identity” as a central concern of activists and scholars, enabling recognition of more complex dynamics of social hierarchy beyond traditional models of class-based materialist criticism. However, some scholars, such as Cloud, Macek & Aune, argue that this concern with identity has enabled broader strategies of domination and prevented audiences and recipients of rhetorical messages from unifying to promote social change. In this paper, I will explore the possibilities as well as the risks of using science studies-derived perspectives to address these controversies in the allegedly postmodern public sphere. Drawing primarily upon the work “science student” Bruno Latour, who has been quite critical of what he perceives as excesses in the poststructuralist critical theory which is so central to identity politics in rhetorical studies today, I will contrast Latourian science studies ontology with contemporary poststructuralist theory, and provide a number of advantages and risks to integrating and contrasting the two approaches. I will show how concepts like class, climate change, and gender identity, all of which are relevant to a number of oppressed groups, can be better understood through a science studies lens than a poststructural one. Through this analysis, I hope to provide a more robust framework for understanding discourses that both suppress and seek to liberate subjugated groups.

The Parodic Republicanism of Glenn Beck and Jon Stewart: Rethinking the Relationship Between Populism, the Vernacular, and Demagoguery

The United States has traditionally had a conflicted relationship with populism, and this relatio... more The United States has traditionally had a conflicted relationship with populism, and this relationship is further troubled by the presence of corporate influences in discourses that claim to speak for “the American people.” Recent discourses about division and unity in the public media of the United States highlight the problems of political organizing in a pluralistic society. This paper takes a theoretical and critical perspective on the public discourses of cable news/comedy hosts Jon Stewart and Glenn Beck, and argues that both Beck and Stewart manifest a new form of pseudo-populist discourse known as parodic republicanism.
Following Butler, parodic republicanism is citational and refers to existing forms of civic argumentation, but is not identical to them. I examine the form that Beck’s & Stewart’s public discourses take, and differentiate them from the existing theory of vernacular republicanism articulated by Mercieca & Aune, and incorporate Harold’s understanding of parody with a critical eye to corporate influences on contemporary discourses. Specifically, I suggest that Beck and Stewart both use devices of humor and absurdity as rhetorical forms of proof, framing their political opponents as absurd. By utilizing comedy to discuss serious issues, the rhetors perform a rhetorical sleight of hand and impair the audience’s ability to understand and tolerate differences of opinion.
I conclude by examining the implications of Beck’s and Stewart’s epistemological frames for rhetorical scholarship, and suggest that both rhetors devalue public argumentation in favor of the imposition of order on a populace. I compare the rhetorical techniques used by these speakers to traditional Platonic/anti-Sophistic views of rhetoric, and suggest avenues for rhetorical scholars to continue researching problems of unity and division in public media.

Thesis Chapters

NERD/GEEK MASCULINITY: TECHNOCRACY, RATIONALITY, AND GENDER IN NERD CULTURE'S COUNTERMASCULINE HEGEMONY A Dissertation

Nerd and geek culture have become subjects of increasing public concern in recent years, with gro... more Nerd and geek culture have become subjects of increasing public concern in recent years, with growing visibility and power for technical professions and increasing relevance of video games, science fiction, and fantasy in popular culture.

As a subculture, nerd/geek culture tends to be described in terms of the experiences of men and boys who are unpopular because of their niche interests or lack of social skills. This dissertation proposes the concept of nerd/geek masculinity to understand discourses of hegemonic masculinity in nerd/geek culture.

Examining three case studies, the novel Ender’s Game by Orson Scott Card, the neoreactionary political ideology, and the #GamerGate controversy, the dissertation suggests that nerd/geek masculinity responds to a perceived emasculation of men who identify as nerds or geeks by constructing the interests, skills, and behaviors of nerd/geek culture as inherently male traits. In this way, nerd/geek masculinity turns the very traits nerds and geeks are often mocked for into evidence of manhood – as the cost of excluding women and queer people from nerd and geek culture.

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Papers

Consuming Reality: The Commercialization of Factual Entertainment, by June Deery and The Makeover: Reality Television and Reflexive Audiences, by Katherine Sender

Http Dx Doi Org 10 1080 15405702 2014 899002, May 2, 2014

Consuming Reality: The Commercialization of Factual Entertainment, by June Deery and The Makeover: Reality Television and Reflexive Audiences, by Katherine Sender

Http Dx Doi Org 10 1080 15405702 2014 899002, May 2, 2014

LGBTQ/Queer Theory, Digital Games, and the Figure of the Geek

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Theorizing Argumentation about Oppression at the Intersection of Science Studies and Poststructuralism

The Parodic Republicanism of Glenn Beck and Jon Stewart: Rethinking the Relationship Between Populism, the Vernacular, and Demagoguery

NERD/GEEK MASCULINITY: TECHNOCRACY, RATIONALITY, AND GENDER IN NERD CULTURE'S COUNTERMASCULINE HEGEMONY A Dissertation

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Consuming Reality: The Commercialization of Factual Entertainment, by June Deery and The Makeover: Reality Television and Reflexive Audiences, by Katherine Sender

Http Dx Doi Org 10 1080 15405702 2014 899002, May 2, 2014

Consuming Reality: The Commercialization of Factual Entertainment, by June Deery and The Makeover: Reality Television and Reflexive Audiences, by Katherine Sender

Http Dx Doi Org 10 1080 15405702 2014 899002, May 2, 2014

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